Booyens ry Weg! met PICA Editor of the Year

Bun Booyens, editor of Weg!

According to Albert Lubbe, MD of Sappi Fine Paper South Africa, this advocacy program will promote the use of magazines as an advertising vehicle to marketers and advertisers with the aim of securing the sustained viability of the industry in South Africa.

Apart from Booyens, the evening's other big overall winners are

• Men's Health Living (Touchline Media) - the Philip Tyler Award for Best New Launch;
  
• Real Simple (8 Ink Media) - the Award for Excellence in Magazine Design;
  
• Seventeen (8 Ink Media) - Rossi Trophy for Best Consumer Magazine;
  
• Plascon Colour (New Media) - Best Customer Magazine;
  
• The Dairy Mail (Agri Connect) - Watling Trophy for Best Business-to- Business Magazine.Thirty-three winners across the three categories of Consumer, Customer and Business-to-Business magazines were also announced. These included Popular Mechanics (Ramsay, Son & Parker), winner of the Men's General Interest category, Farmer's Weekly (Caxton), who won the Consumer Business Category and Women's General Interest winner, Cosmopolitan (Associated Magazines).

  Exceptionally healthy

  "All the winners demonstrate the exceptionally healthy state of the South African magazine publishing industry at the moment," says Ann Donald, the chief judge and former Fairlady editor. Of course they couldn't have anticipated the announcements of the closure of Style and Krew magazines this week!

  Whether they have the guts to launch a world-first décor magazine for men, the creativity to introduce specially-sealed "must read" sections into the main body or the savvy to embrace a society in transition by finding ways to write for emerging farmers without losing the readership of existing ones - the winners of this year's Magazine Publishers' Association of SA's Sappi Pica awards indicate that SA's magazine industry is thriving.

  During 2006, thirty-six titles have joined the Audited Bureau of Circulation. Many such as Lééf met hart & siel, which focuses on a providing a spiritually-based read for Afrikaans women, or American title Real Simple that aims at a clutter-free, solutions-driven editorial platform, are leading the trend toward new and viable niches.

  Increased competition

  "The increased competition brought about by the wider choice, is stimulating innovation and smart thinking. Winning editors and publishers are rising to the challenge by becoming fiercely reader-centric, which is of course the only sustainable way to deliver the audiences that advertisers expect," says Donald.

  According to Donald, examples of proudly South African magazine publishing are the launch of the Men's Health Living magazine, a world-first with its' focus on décor and lifestyle editorial for men and which the international partner, Rodale Press, is monitoring carefully with a view to an international roll-out, as well as the phenomenal success achieved by Media 24's Weg!.

  This outdoor leisure title has rewritten the publishing rulebook by securing a third of its circulation in subscriptions within two years of launching and against an industry norm of 10%. It has also become the market leader within 20 issues.

  Closely contested

  The success of Weg! secured editor Booyens the inaugural Jane Raphaely Editor of the Year Award against competitors such as Esmaré Weideman of Drum and Sumien Brink of Visi, who won highly commended in this category.

  "This was a closely contested race with three highly commended editors vying strongly for the top spot. Any one of them would be a worthy winner, in that, their strengths lay as much in their business savvy as their editorial capacity," Donald says.

  The full list of MPASA Sappi Pica Awards 2006 are:

  TRADITIONAL MAGAZINE AWARDS

  Philip Tyler Award for the Best New Launch
  Winner: Men's Health Living, Touchline Media

  Award for Excellence in Magazine Design
  Winner: Real Simple, 8 Ink Media

  PREMIER MAGAZINE AWARDS

  Best Customer Magazine
  Winner: Plascon Colour, New Media

  Best Business-to-Business Magazine: Watling Trophy
  Winner: The Dairy Mail, AgriConnect

  Best Consumer Magazine: Rossi Trophy
  Winner: Seventeen, 8 Ink Media

  JANE RAPHAELY EDITOR OF THE YEAR AWARD

  Winner: Bun Booyens - Weg!, Media24 Magazines
  Highly Commended: Esmaré Weideman - Drum, Media24 Magazines
  Highly Commended: Sumien Brink - Visi, New Media

  CONSUMER MAGAZINE AWARDS

  Home, Décor and Gardening
  Winner: Tuis/Home, Media24 Magazines
  Highly Commended - House and Leisure, Associated Magazines

  Men's General Interest
  Winner: Popular Mechanics, Ramsay, Son & Parker

  General Interest News and Entertainment Magazines
  Winner: Bona, Caxton Magazines
  Highly Commended - Insig, New Media

  Sport
  Winner: Kick Off, Touchline Media
  Highly Commended - Golf Digest South Africa, Touchline Media

  Leisure Interests
  Winner: Car, Ramsay, Son & Parker
  Highly Commended - Drive Out, New Media

  Travel, Wildlife and Conservation
  Winner: Weg!, Media24 Magazines
  Highly Commended - Africa Geographic, Africa Geographic

  Parenting
  Winner: Fit Pregnancy, Touchline Media

  Spirituality
  Winner: Lééf met hart & siel, Media24 Magazines

  Business
  Winner: Farmer's Weekly, Caxton Magazines
  Highly Commended - Finweek, Media24 Magazines

  Youth
  Winner: Seventeen, 8 Ink Media
  Highly Commended: National Geographic Kids, 8 Ink Media

  Women's General Interest
  Winner: Cosmopolitan, Associated Magazines
  Highly Commended: Fairlady, Media24 Magazines

  Women's Special Interest
  Winner: Shape, Touchline Media

  Annuals and Special Editions
  Winner: Huisgenoot 90 Gedenkuitgawe, Media24 Magazines
  Highly Commended - Eat Out, New Media

  Supplements
  Winner: WegSleep, Media24 Magazines
  Highly Commended: Elle Supplement, Johncom Media Magazine Division
  Highly Commended: Seventeen Diary, 8 Ink Media

  CUSTOMER MAGAZINE AWARDS
  Business-to-Business
  Winner: Accountancy SA, SAICA

  Retail and Consumer Goods
  Winner: Taste, New Media
  Highly Commended: Jet Club Magazine, The Publishing Partnership
  Highly Commended: Lewis Club Magazine, New Highway Publishing

  Hospitality, Tourism and Travel
  Winner: Good Taste, Converge

  Health, Fitness and Sport
  Winner: South African Paddler, Atoll Media Magazine Publishers
  Highly Commended: Heart, New Media

  Entertainment, Leisure and Lifestyle
  Winner: Obrigado, The Publishing Partnership
  Highly Commended: ClassicFeel Magazine, Desklink Media

  Annuals, Directories, Product Guides and Supplements
  Winner: Plascon Colour, New Media
  Highly Commended: Pezula/, New Media

  BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS MAGAZINE AWARDS
  Farming, Agricultural Produce and Equipment, Irrigation and Horticulture
  Winner: The Dairy Mail, AgriConnect

  Civil Engineering, Building and Infrastructural Development
  Winner: IMIESA, 3S Media
  Highly Commended: Leading Architecture and Design, Primedia Publishing

  Electrical and Electronics Engineering
  Winner: Sparks Electrical News, Crown Publications
  Highly Commended: SA Instrumentation and Control, Technews

  Business Management and Communications
  Winner: B®and, Brand Africa Media

  Hospitality, Travel and Tourism
  Winner: Southern Africa's Travel News Weekly, Now Media

  Medical, Rescue, Safety and Security
  Winner: TLC, Picasso Headline

  Other Specialist Titles
  Winner: RB Magazine, Lindiwe Communications
  Highly Commended: Pursuit, Johncom Media Magazine Division
  Highly Commended: De Rebus, The SA Attorney's Journal, Law Society of South Africa

  Annuals, Special Editions, Product Guides and Supplements
  Winner: MIMS Guide to OTC Products 2006, Johncom Media Magazine Division
  Highly Commended: MIMS Desk Reference (MDR) 2006, Johncom Media Magazine Division
  Highly Commended: Digest of South African Architecture, Picasso Headline